The Tell-Tale Heart

by

Edgar Allan Poe

(published 1850)

TRUE! -- nervous -- very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but

why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --

not destroyed -- not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute.

I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.

How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily -- how calmly I

can tell you the whole story.

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once

conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion

there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had

never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye!

yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film

over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --

very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus

rid myself of the eye forever.

Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But

you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded --

with what caution --with what foresight --with what dissimulation I went to

work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before

I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door

and opened it --oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening

sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no

light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed

to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly --very, very slowly, so

that I might not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me an hour to place my

whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his

bed. Ha! --would a madman have been so wise as this? And then, when my

head was well in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously --oh, so cautiously

--cautiously (for the hinges creaked) --I undid it just so much that a single

thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I did for seven long nights --

every night just at midnight --but I found the eye always closed; and so it

was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me,

but his Evil Eye. And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into

the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a

hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night. So you see he

would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every

night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept.

Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the

door. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never

before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers --of my sagacity. I

could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that there I was,

opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret

deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me;

for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I

drew back --but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness,

(for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I

knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it

on steadily, steadily.

I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb

slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out

--"Who's there?"

I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a

muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting

up in the bed listening; --just as I have done, night after night, hearkening

to the death watches in the wall.

Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal

terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled

sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe.

I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world

slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful

echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the

old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he

had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned

in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been

trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to

himself --"It is nothing but the wind in the chimney --it is only a mouse

crossing the floor," or "It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp."

Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he

had found all in vain.All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had

stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it

was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to

feel --although he neither saw nor heard --to feel the presence of my head

within the room.

When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie

down, I resolved to open a little --a very, very little crevice in the lantern. So

I opened it --you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily --until, at length a

single dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the crevice and

fell full upon the vulture eye.

It was open --wide, wide open --and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I

saw it with perfect distinctness --all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it

that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of

the old man's face or person: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct,

precisely upon the damned spot.

And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over

acuteness of the senses? --now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull,

quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that

sound well, too. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It increased my

fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage.

But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the

lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the

eye. Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and

quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man's

terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every

moment! --do you mark me well? I have told you that I am nervous: so I

am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of

that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable

terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the

beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a

new anxiety seized me --the sound would be heard by a neighbor! The old

man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and

leaped into the room. He shrieked once --once only. In an instant I dragged

him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to

find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a

muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard

through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the

bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my

hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no

pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.

If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the

wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned,

and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I

cut off the head and the arms and the legs.

I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and

deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly,

so cunningly, that no human eye -- not even his --could have detected any

thing wrong. There was nothing to wash out --no stain of any kind --no

blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all --

ha! ha!

When I had made an end of these labors, it was four o'clock --still dark as

midnight. As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street

door. I went down to open it with a light heart, --for what had I now to

fear? There entered three men, who introduced themselves, with

perfect suavity, as officers of the police. A shriek had been heard by a

neighbor during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused;

information had been lodged at the police office, and they (the officers)

had been deputed to search the premises.

I smiled, --for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The

shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was

absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them

search --search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them

his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I

brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their

fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed

my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the

victim.

The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was

singularly at ease. They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of

familiar things. But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them

gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but still they sat

and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: --it continued and

became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it

continued and gained definiteness --until, at length, I found that the noise

was not within my ears.

No doubt I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently, and with a

heightened voice. Yet the sound increased --and what could I do? It was a

low, dull, quick sound --much such a sound as a watch makes when

enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath -- and yet the officers heard it not.

I talked more quickly --more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased. I

arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violentgesticulations;

but the noise steadily increased. Why would they not be gone? I paced the

floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations

of the men -- but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! what could I do? I

foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting,

and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually

increased. It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted

pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! --no,

no! They heard! --they suspected! --they knew! --they were making a

mockery of my horror! --this I thought, and this I think. But anything was

better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I

could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or

die! --and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! --

"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the

planks! --here, here! --it is the beating of his hideous heart!"

Analysis of the story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe

Born January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. American short-story

writer, poet, critic, and editor Edgar Allan Poe's tales of mystery and horror

initiated the modern detective story, and the atmosphere in his tales of horror is

unrivaled in American fiction. With his short stories and poems, Edgar Allan Poe

captured the imagination and interest of readers around the world. His creative

talents led to the beginning of different literary genres, earning him the nickname

"Father of the Detective Story" among other distinctions.

Poe became a literary sensation in 1845 with the publication of the poem "The

Raven." It is considered a great American literary work and one of the best of

Poe's career.

In late 1830s, Poe published Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, a

collection of stories. It contained several of his most spine-tingling tales, including

"The Fall of the House of Usher," "Ligeia" and "William Wilson." Poe launched the

new genre of detective fiction with 1841's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." A

writer on the rise, he won a literary prize in 1843 for "The Gold Bug," a suspenseful

tale of secret codes and hunting treasure.

Continuing work in different forms, Poe examined his own methodology and

writing in general in several essays, including "The Philosophy of Composition,"

"The Poetic Principle" and "The Rationale of Verse." He also produced another

thrilling tale, "The Cask of Amontillado," and poems such as "Ulalume" and "The

Bells."

Poe’s writing possesses indubitable literary merit and serves as an

encouraging example for aspiring writers. His writing demonstrates stylistic

brilliance in the form of varying vocabulary, remarkable repetition, and

instrumental imagery.

Poe's best known fiction works are Gothic, a genre he followed to appease the

public taste. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its

physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the

reanimation of the dead, and mourning. In many of Poe's works, setting is used to

paint a dark and gloomy picture in our minds. His mysterious style of writing

appeals to emotion and drama.

Poe has a brilliant way of taking gothic tales of mystery and terror and mixing

them with variations of a romantic tale by shifting emphasis from surface

suspense and plot pattern to his symbolic play in language and various meanings

of words. Poe uses a subtle style, tone, subconscious motivation of characters and

serious themes to shift his readers towards a demented point of view. This is the

unique tactics Poe utilizes that makes him an impressionable writer and poet.

Beyond horror, Poe also wrote satires, humor tales, and hoaxes. For comic

effect, he used irony and ludicrous extravagance, often in an attempt to liberate

the reader from cultural conformity.

In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe takes us to the mind of a mad man as he

struggles with the thoughts that caused him to do the unthinkable. He killed an

old man, because of his eye, which scared the narrator. Through the whole story,

the main character insists that he is not crazy.

There are three main themes of "The Tell Tale Heart":

Crime and punishment (every person, who committed a crime can’t escape punishment);

Insanity (the reader can understand that the main character is crazy, based on his behavior, speech and thoughts. However, he believed and believes that he is and was perfectly sane. He thinks that it is normally to kill someone, because something makes you feel uncomfortable and irritates you);

Time (The narrator had been preparing for a murder for seven long nights. On the eighth night the old man heard that someonewas in his room: “For a whole HOUR I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening;--just as I have done, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, hearkening to the death WATCHES in the wall.” Our life is measured in hours.

We can define two types of the setting of this story: physical and mental.

The physical settings are:

the place, where now the narrator is (a prison or maybe an insane asylum);

the house, the bedroom, where was committed a murder. There are only few details about this house in the story, which are directly given. We know that the old man kept his shutters tightly locked. And we can only imagine a bedroom, where the narrator killed the old man. This story taps our fears of the dark, and what the dark might hold. Reading this story, you look involuntarilyaround… Maybe someone also spies on you.

The most important setting of this story is mental. It clearly explains the

personality of the narrator. We can or try to understand the actions of the

narrator, we know his feelings. It gives us more clear idea of the main character,

of his essence.

The action in the narrator's story takes place over eight days.

This story is written in the first person narrative. This technique is used to get

inside the main character's head and view his thoughts and are often exciting. It

helps us to understand the main character better.

The author is the main character of the story. He is the protagonist and the

antagonist at the same time. He is nervous, paranoid and mentally ill. He doesn't

know the difference between the "real" and the "unreal". He doesn't share his

name, because he wants only to tell us what he had done. Or maybe he

remembers that night when he committed a murder and tries to convince himself

of being in hisright mind.

But the reader can understand that he is crazy, based on his behavior, speech

and thoughts. We can’t trust him, because he tries to show things in the most

favourable light. We must draw conclusions ourselves.

He is a narrator and one of the characters at the same time. So we can say,

that he is a dynamic character. There are given indirect (for example, how he

watched the old man eight nights) and speech characteristics ("NERVOUS--very,

very dreadfully nervous I had been and am!") of this character.

The next character is the old man. We can look at him through the eyes of the

narrator. But, as it was mentioned, we can’t trust the main character. The old man

had a blue eye, which irritated and scared the narrator: “One of his eyes

resembled that of a vulture--a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell

upon me, my blood ran cold…”. We can suppose that he was reach enough (the

narrator showed the old man's "treasures" to the police), and he was afraid of

robbers (“…for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers…”). But

we can say, that he trusted the narrator, because he didn’t lock his bedroom’s

door. The old man was incapable of defending himself: “His fears had been ever

since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could

not. He had been saying to himself: "It is nothing but the wind in the chimney--it is

only a mouse crossing the floor," or "it is merely a cricket which has made a single

chirp." Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions; but he

had found all in vain.” He was in need of protection.

The policemen and the neighbor are the secondary characters.

The three policemen don't really have any characteristics. But they play a

major role in driving the plot of the narrator's story. The three policemen are fairly

unambiguous, flat characters who do exactly what they are supposed to do.

The neighbor plays a small but important role in the narrator's story. Through

the neighbor it is expressed narrator’s fear that someone can hear the

perpetration of a crime.

The plot of the story (extract, passage) runs as follows:

Exposition of the story is when a nameless person (the narrator ) explains that

he is and was extremely nervous, but is not and was not insane. Rather, the

narrator has a "disease" which makes all his senses, especially his hearing, very

sensitive. To prove that he is of sound mind, he tells us the story on how he killed

the old man while pleading his sanity, all his preparations and how cautious he

was: “You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me.

You should have seen how wisely I proceeded--with what caution--with what

foresight--with what dissimulation I went to work!”. But why he did? He loved the

old man and had nothing against him. Except…his horrible eye, “…a pale blue eye,

with a film over it”. The narrator hated the eye and decided to kill the old man to

be free of it.

Every night, at almost 12am, the narrator came in the old man's bedroom and

looked if the eye was open or not. The narrator did that for eight nights.It’s a story

himself. Here the narrator tells us how he spied the old man.

The climax of the story comes at night of the murder. The main character is

describing all his actions and feelings in extremely precise way. On the eighth

night the he killed the old man, he smothered the old man and then

“…dismembered the corpse… took up three planks from the flooring of the

chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings… replaced the boards so

cleverly, so cunningly, that no human eye--not even his--could have detected

anything wrong”.

The denoument is when three policemen came.The narrator was pretty

calm.He gave them the guided tour of the house, and then invited to hang out

with him in the man's bedroom. But, the narrator started to hear a terrible noise,

which gets louder and louder. He thought that it was old man’s heartbeat and

that everyone in that room heard it… But I think, it was heartbeat of the murderer.

Somewhere deep in his mind he understood what he had done. To stop that noise,

which drove himmad, the narrator told the cops to look under the

floorboards and confessed tomurder.

It is an author’s narration with some description and inner dialogues

(monologue).

We can define many literary devices in this story. One of them aresymbols.

· The old man’s eye. It is a symbol of narrator’s paranoia and insanity:

“Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had

never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I

think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a

vulture… Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold”. We also see the old man’s

essence through this eye. “…a pale blue eye, with a film over it” - it indicates a

lack of visual clarity and reliability of the man. That’s why he did’t trust people and

was afraid of surrounding world.

· The watch. The narrator several times mentioned a watch (“…there came

to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as aWATCH makes when enveloped in

cotton” etc). A watch is a visual and auditory representation of time. Time

symbolize the approach of death. The narrator, who literally controls the time of

death for the old man, compares himself to a watch's minute hand.

· The Heartbeat. It symbolizes the narrator’s guilt. He thought that he heard

the heartbeat of the old man. But he heard his own heart, subconsciously he

understood what he had done.

· The bed and the bedroom. In such place as a bedroom we feel ourselves

safe, because it’s our own place, where can’t be any threat for us. But Poe shows a

bedroom as a place of murder and the bed – as a weapon.

Poe uses a lot of repetitions: “…with what caution--with what foresight--with

what dissimulation…“, “…how stealthily, stealthily…”, “slowly—very, very

slowly”, “steadily, steadily”, “It grew louder--louder --louder!”, “They heard!--they

suspected--they knew!”. It helps to intensify the situation, to make the

atmosphere of the story more intensive and frightful. We are waiting what will be

the next. Such repetitions help the reader understand the narrator's nervous

state and his feelings.

We can see some examples of hyperbole, which help us to understand, that

we are reading thoughts of a true madman: “I heard all things in the heaven and

in the earth. I heard many things in hell” , “It took me an hour to place my whole

head…”, “For a whole hour I did not move a muscle…”

Such metaphor as “One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture--a pale blue

eye, with a film over it” shows us, that the narrator was afraid the eye. It is

said, the vulture is an evil bird and associated with evil in literature. So, the

narrator thought that it was the eye of Evil. “A watch's minute hand moves more

quickly than did mine”. This metaphor shows how cautious the narrator was in

opening the door.

The personification of Death helps to develop mood: “because Death, in

approaching him. had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped

the victim”.

There are some similes in this story: “His room was as black as pitch with the

thick darkness …”, “a single dim ray, like the thread of the spider “, “a low, dull,

quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton”, “still dark as

midnight”. They emphasize the quality and the state of some things.

alliteration: "Hearken...how healthily, how..."

There is an example of amplification: “I talked more quickly –more

vehemently; but the NOISE STEADILY INCREASED. I arose and argued about trifles,

in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the NOISE STEADILY

INCREASED.” The narrator try to convince us that he is not mad. He emphasizes

the fact.

Another rhetorical device that can be found within the story

is epithet“dreadfully nervous”. It names the important characteristic of

the character.

Parenthesis is also found within this short story: “I undid the lantern-oh, so

cautiously –cautiously (for the hinges creaked) –I undid it just so much that a

single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye.” Here Poe uses the parenthesis to explain

why the speaker undid the lantern so cautiously. “His room was as black as pitch

with the thick darkness (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of

robbers), and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept

pushing it on steadily, steadily” – Poe explains, why was so dark in the bedroom

and gives some additional information about the old man.

We also can find some rhetorical questions: “Would a madman have been so

wise as this?”, “Why would you say that I am mad”, “For what had I to fear?”. The

answers are obvious. The narrator insists that he is sane, and doesn’t even

suppose that he can be crazy.

Irony: The speaker keeps saying that he is not crazy but through his actions

and speech we can make a conclusionthat he is.

As we see, this story is really reach on stylistic devices.

During the reading, it is given the impression that you hear that heartbeat,

the “low, dull, quick sound--much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped

in cotton”, that the old man’s eye, “a pale blue eye, with a film over it”,

are piercinginto you. In this story Poe takes us to the mind of a mad man as he

struggles with the thoughts that caused him to do the unthinkable.

Poe's economic style of writing is a key instrument in making this story

amazing. In this story, he uses his style to truly bring out what he intended for the

story - a study of paranoia. He uses a lot of stylistic devices to reach the story, to

make it more colorful and interesting.

The moral of this story is very clear. The feeling of guilt is very hard or even

impossible to overcome, even a madman can’t cope with it.

The theme of "The Tell-Tale Heart". Expressive means and stylistic

devices in the story

There are three main themes of "The Tell Tale Heart":

Crime and punishment (every person, who committed a crime can’t escape punishment);

Insanity (the reader can understand that the main character is crazy, based onhis behavior, speech and thoughts. However, he believed and believes that he is and was perfectly sane. He thinks that it is normally to kill someone, because something makes you feel uncomfortable and irritates you);

Time (The narrator had been preparing for a murder for seven long nights. On the eighth night the old man heard that someonewas in his room: “For a whole HOUR I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening;--just as I have done, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, hearkening to the death WATCHES in the wall.” Our life is measured in hours.

We can define many literary devices in this story. One of them are symbols.

The old man’s eye. It is a symbol of narrator’s paranoia and insanity: “Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture…Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold”. We also see the old man’s essence through this eye. “…a pale blue eye, with a film over it” - it indicates a lack of visual clarity and reliability of the man. That’s why he did’t trust people and was afraid of surrounding world.

The watch. The narrator several times mentioned a watch (“…there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as aWATCH makes when enveloped in cotton” etc). A watch is a visual and auditory representation of time. Time symbolize the approach of death. The narrator, who literally controls the time of death for the old man, compares himself to a watch's minute hand.

The Heartbeat. It symbolizes the narrator’s guilt. He thought that he heard the heartbeat of the old man. But he heard his own heart, subconsciously he understood what he had done.

The bed and the bedroom. In such place as a bedroom we feel ourselves safe, because it’s our own place, where can’t be any threat for us. But Poe shows a bedroom as a place of murder and the bed – as a weapon.

Poe uses a lot of repetitions: “…with what caution--with

what foresight--with what dissimulation…“, “…how stealthily,

stealthily…”, “slowly—very, very slowly”, “steadily, steadily”, “It grew louder--

louder --louder!”, “They heard!--they suspected--they knew!”. It helps to intensify

the situation, to make the atmosphere of the story more intensive and frightful.

We are waiting what will be the next. Such repetitionshelp the reader understand

the narrator's nervous state and his feelings.

We can see some examples of hyperbole, which help us to understand, that

we are reading thoughts of a true madman: “I heard all things in the heaven and

in the earth. I heard many things in hell” , “It took me an hour to place my whole

head…”, “For a whole hour I did not move a muscle…”

Such metaphor as “One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture--a pale blue

eye, with a film over it” shows us, that the narrator was afraid the eye. It is

said, the vulture is an evil bird and associated with evil in literature. So, the

narrator thought that it was the eye of Evil. “A watch's minute hand moves more

quickly than did mine”. This metaphor shows how cautious the narrator was in

opening the door.

The personification of Death helps to develop mood: “because Death, in

approaching him. had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped

the victim”.

There are some similes in this story: “His room was as black as pitch with

the thick darkness …”, “a single dim ray, like the thread of the spider “, “a low,

dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton”, “still dark as

midnight”. They emphasize the quality and the state of some things.

alliteration: "Hearken...how healthily, how..."

There is an example of amplification: “I talked more quickly –more

vehemently; but the NOISE STEADILY INCREASED. I arose and argued about trifles,

in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the NOISE STEADILY

INCREASED.” The narrator try to convince us that he is not mad. He emphasizes

the fact.

Another rhetorical device that can be found within the story

is epithet“dreadfully nervous”. It names the important characteristic of

the character.

Parenthesis is also found within

this short story:“I undid the lantern-oh, so cautiously –cautiously (for the hinges

creaked) –I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye.”

Here Poe uses the parenthesis to explain why the speaker undid the lantern so

cautiously.“His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness (for the

shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers), and so I knew that he could

not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily” – Poe

explains, why was so dark in the bedroom and gives some additional information

about the old man.

We also can find some rhetorical questions: “Would a madman have been

so wise as this?”, “Why would you say that I am mad”, “For what had I to fear?”.

The answers are obvious. The narrator insists that he is sane, and doesn’t even

suppose that he can be crazy.

Irony: The speaker keeps saying that he is not crazy but through his actions

and speech we can make a conclusionthat he is.

As we see, this story is really reach on stylistic devices.